


Startup

by Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains



Category: Toradora!
Genre: And that's why Riūji loves her, Cuddling, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Married Life, Post-Canon, Taiga will always be Taiga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:35:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25194784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains/pseuds/Pearl_Pilots_In_Chains
Summary: “Yep!,” Taiga confirmed.  “You better do a good job of cuddling me.  Or else!”~~~Sometimes, even after everything they've been through, it's the little things that really surprise Taiga.  And sometimes, even after everything they've been through, it's the little things Riūji worries about.  In the end, they really do complete each other in the ways no one else sees.
Relationships: Aisaka Taiga/Takasu Ryuuji
Comments: 2
Kudos: 116





	Startup

The sheets were soft beneath her side as she stirred against them, folding her form in tight alongside the familiar warmth.She inhaled, drawing life into her lungs as her mind slowly activated, ascending out from the canyon of unconsciousness, back up onto the plateau upon which her waking hours walked.Even as she emerged from the depths, reaching a tier which boasted awareness, the pleasant warmth remained, showing no signs of dissipating.She pushed in closer to it, pressing as deep into the shape as she dared, some piece of her gradually-activating brain still encouraging at least a bit of restraint in the action.Her efforts were rewarded with a mumbled, half-awake grunt.With some difficulty, she set about prying her eyes open, a still-arduous task at this stage of wakefulness.At last, however, she managed to coax the reticent blinds up, her muscles hoisting the curtains away from her flaxen orbs, letting light pierce them once again.

She blinked, clearing away the silt of sleep that had accumulated at her canthi.She realized, after a few moments of bemusement, that something was amiss.The world she had expected to greet her when she unfastened her eyelids was nowhere to be found.Despite the fact that she had opened her eyes, darkness still abounded, confronting her directly.And yet . . . at the same time, she could ascertain slits of dim, veiled light at both edges of her peripheral vision.A momentary second of concern passed through her mind as it struggled to process the environment she had discovered, still partially held within the throes of sleep and its mystery. 

She recoiled sharply from the darkness before her, sucking in a deep, gasping breath.This action precipitated several near-simultaneous occurrences.The first of these was the distancing of the comforting warmth which she had yielded herself over to, attempting to cocoon herself in a minute or so earlier.This was an equally disappointing and disconcerting event, one which she found quite irritating.She had been enjoying the warmth . . . even if it had been dark.The second occurrence was that of a veritable surging wave of light breaking against the shoreline of her eyes, flooding them with unexpected illumination.The onslaught of radiance prompted a sharp sting of discomfort, and a fit of rapid blinking, an attempt to adjust to the sudden brilliance of the morning rays which fell into the room.The third occurrence was the inhalation of a scent which triggered an instant recognition in her mind.The first word that her mind promptly associated with the aroma was, appropriately, ‘home.’This recognition, in turn, brought about a further ‘activation’ of her mind.Suddenly, the remaining fragments of sleep which clung to her like torn fibers of a shroud were cast aside, blown to thread and fuzz by the wild wind of consciousness.The fourth, and final, occurrence which happened in relatively quick succession to those that preceded it was a voice she knew as well as her own, still thick with the haze of dreams, but also touched with a note of worry, posing a question.“Taiga, you okay?”

Her eyes flew open, and remained so this time, focusing on the source of the inquiry.Her boyfriend, _no_ , she corrected herself with a giddy jolt of excitement flourishing in the cavity of her chest, _my husband,_ was regarding her with furrowed brows, his eyes bright, despite the fact that she was certain he was still less than fully awake.She nodded slowly, traces of red forming across her cheeks as she realized what exactly she had ‘panicked’ over.“Umm . . . yeah,” she mumbled, her eyes sinking away from his, looking down toward the sheets between them.

“You sure?,” Riūji probed again, sounding not in the least bit convinced.In his defense, her answer had sounded less than certain.In fact, even to her own ears, it had sounded distinctly uncertain.Steeling herself and holding back the retort that her brain was already in the process of composing (old habits died hard, but she was battling them to the death nonetheless, and winning, at that), she raised her eyes back up to lock into his.She nodded, unequivocally this time, hoping that the firmness of the motion would preclude any further concern on his part.She was pleased to see that his face relaxed, albeit slightly, at the gesture.All the same, it still looked as though his worries had not quite been laid to rest.Though his brow had dropped back to its usual state, the glimmer in his eyes was still an unsettled one.All would not be well until he was convinced she was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, alright. _Idiot,_ she thought to herself, lacing the pejorative declaration with more than a mere hint of affection in her mind. _He worries way to much . . . guess I can’t really blame him though._ A smile raised the corners of her lips as she held her husband’s gaze. _Even if he is an idiot . . . he’s my idiot.All mine.All mine._ The excitement that was still dancing in her chest, foxtrotting its way through the corridors of her heart, leapt for the metaphorically ceiling of her skin, causing little explosions of heat to blossom beneath her eyes.

Riūji’s tilted his head, insomuch as he could do so while resting it against his pillow, but continued to hold her gaze as well.His face now bore the tell-tale signs of confusion.Her smile, after all, appeared to be genuine.Not merely a constructed ruse, intended to draw him away from a real issue.That wasn’t Taiga’s style after all.Still, a part of his mind nagged at him, warning him that something might still be wrong. _Even if she isn’t hiding anything . . . I have to make sure.It’s always good to make sure._ He stretched out a hand and gently rested it against her cheek.She flinched for an instant, her blush deepening as her face warmed, not foreseeing the sudden contact.Nonetheless, after a brief second of tension, she relaxed into his touch, making no effort to pull away.Internally, Riūji grinned. _Even a year ago, she probably still would have snapped at me and pulled away if I tried something like that.The fact that she lets me now . . . well . . .,_ his mind searched for an adequate explanation of his feelings on the matter, before finding one that, while more than a bit cliche, wrapped his sentiments up nicely. _It means everything.Everything._

“You know,” he said carefully, measuring the weight of each word as he spoke, “If something’s wrong, you can always talk to me.I mean —“

She cut him off, shaking her head vigorously against his hand, a display exaggerated far past the necessary point.“Nothing’s wrong,” she asserted, a little louder than she had intended.All the same, her words were honest.Riūji could tell that much.He had gotten fairly decent at reading his wife’s expressions and statements in the time they’d been together (as friends, a dating couple, and now spouses), if he did say so himself (which he did, though only to himself, because he wasn’t about to bring up something like that with Taiga and face the inevitable ‘ire’ it would incur).

Taiga fixed her husband with a pointed stare as the motions of her neck halted.“Trust me,” she stated unambiguously.“I’m fine.I just . . . ,“ she trailed off, her blush, which had just begun to fade, returning once more.“I just was a little surprised when I woke up . . . against you, I mean.”She looked away, clearly not entirely comfortable explaining something which she found embarrassing.“I was still kind of asleep . . . you know.Anyway,” she glared back over at him, “I’m fine.Alright?”

Riūji nodded, a smile breaking over his face.“Yeah,” he replied kindly.“Everything’s alright.”He raised his hand once again, which had been knocked to the bed during her vehement head-shaking.He settled it on her shoulder.“You can come back,” he offered, still smiling.“If you want to, that is,” he added.

Taiga raised an eyebrow, not quite following his statement.“Come back?,” she asked, a bit of her ‘forceful’ attitude creeping into it.“What’s that supposed to mean?I never went anywhere.”

“I mean,” Riūji clarified, “That we could keep cuddling.If you want.Now that you’re awake,” he continued, a humorous lilt entering his tone, “It shouldn’t be so much of a surprise.”

Taiga eyes momentarily narrowed at the joke her husband was making at her expense, but she resisted the urge to put him in his place, however tempting it was. _After all, there are other things that even more tempting.But there’s no way I’m gonna tell him that.It’d totally go to his head._ “Fine,” she grumbled, the smile she was fighting to keep off of her face betraying the fact that she wasn’t all that discontent, regardless of the act she was putting on.“I guess I could let you cuddle me.But!,” she added, with a flash in her lenses, “You should know that it’s only because I’m feeling generous today.”

Riūji bit back the chuckle that threatened to spill from his lips.He settled for a monosyllabic response, fearing that anything longer might bring a current of giggles to the surface, which would no doubt ‘displease’ his wife.“Okay.”

“Good,” Taiga remarked, maintaining her commanding facade.“And, I have one more condition.”

“Oh?,” Riūji queried, trying very, very hard at this point to stay as unamused as possible.It was quickly becoming a difficult endeavor.

“Yep!,” Taiga confirmed.“You better do a good job of cuddling me.Or else!”

“So,” Riūji began, no longer trying to hold the amusement from his voice, “What I’m hearing is that the stakes are high, huh?”

“Uh huh,” Taiga answered decisively, this time trying not to grin herself. _Since when did it get so hard to keep this kind of thing up?_

“Well then,” Riūji intoned, “I’ll do my very best.”

“You better,” Taiga concurred, reiterating her earlier point.

Moving steadily, Riūji guided Taiga back into the embrace of his arms.Leveraging herself against the mattress below them, Taiga rolled herself over so that he could spoon her.They grew still again, molded together beneath the sheets, as she settled her head back against his chest.Though she had no intention of voicing the thought, she couldn’t help but think it was a position of which she would never tire. _It’s kinda weird. . . but kinda perfect at the same time, how well we fit together.Like parts of a whole or something.Like it’s how things are meant to be._

Taiga was altogether content to hold their combined form as long as possible, though, by the time she made out when her eyes wandered over to fall on the clock that sat on their nightstand, she knew ‘as long as possible’ meant roughly fifteen minutes at best.The glowing red digits and the strands of light edging around the curtains to brighten the room both pointed to the day’s inevitable encroachment on the ephemeral perfection of the moment.There was no way to delay the fact that sooner, rather than later, they’d both have to get up. _Oh well . . . who cares?I’m gonna enjoy for however many minutes I can.And nothing better get in my way.So there._ She allowed a satisfied smirk to curl itself over her face, knowing there was no way Riūji would be able to make it out in their current configuration.She knew that he knew that despite her supposed curtness earlier, that this was what she had wanted.Still, she wasn’t going to come out and say it.That would be way too easy for him.Fortunately, it seemed as though he had gotten pretty good at reading the implications behind her acts.Not that they were quite as veiled as they had once been.There was no real reason to hide anything anymore.All the same, it was, well, fun.Sometimes anyway.When it was something simple like this, it was a game they could both play.A dance they knew the steps to, that was inscrutable to onlookers.It was how they owned their love, she thought.What set it apart.How they showed that they shared the same world, and walked the same path.They would never embody the idealized, romantic couple, that some people seemed to think was the standard to aspire to in relationships. _But that doesn’t matter.All that matters is what we have, and that’s it what we want.What we need.It’s us._

Taiga’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her husband’s voice.“So,” Riūji murmured into her ear, doing his best to keep his voice low, “Does this qualify as decent cuddling?”

“Hmmm.”Taiga pursed her lips, pretending to seriously consider the question, as though the answer was a difficult one to arrive at.“Well . . .”She let the decision hang in dramatic fashion, determined to keep him in suspense for as long as possible, or at the very least, go through the motions of doing so.For his part, Riūji didn’t seem all that put off by the pause.His form against hers remained loose, at rest, showing no signs of tension. _He’s not worried at all, is he?Oh well, whatever.I’ll give it to him.Just this once though._ “. . . I suppose it does,” she finished, glad that her grin was concealed from him, even if the smile was apparent enough in her voice.“Good work Mr. Takasu.You didn’t mess it up this time.”

“Heh,” Riūji chuckled lightly, bringing a hand up to run it through the golden locks that streamed down from her head.“I’m glad to hear it, Mrs. Takasu,” he added, taking special care to emphasize the name.Taiga’s smile widened, to the point where she was sure that Riūji could make it out through the hair he parted with his fingers.She decided to let it go.Just this once. _Didn’t I say that last time though?_ She mused. _Eh, it doesn’t matter.Who’s keeping track?I’m not.Not anymore._

“Is that a smile I see?,” Riūji inquired blithely, disrupting her train of thoughts.

Taiga swiped the smile from her face, pushing it out into something resembling a pout instead.“Don’t push it, Riūji,” she retorted, her voice rich with faux-menace.“I could just as easily say this is inadequate cuddling after all.”She craned her neck to look back at him.As she suspected, he was trying (and failing), to hide a broad smile.

“Hmm.”He reached a hand up to stroke his chin, creating the illusion that he deep in thought.“You’re right,” he announced, meeting her gaze.“My bad.Why don’t I make it up to you?,” he offered, sounding just a little too enthusiastic for what was ostensibly an admission of a mistake.

“How are you gonna do that?,” Taiga asked, the suspicion evident in her voice.

“Well, I was thinking of a kiss,” Riūji deadpanned in response.

Taiga’s abrupt blush was as evident in her voice as it was across her face.“Oh . . . well . . . I guess that might be acceptable.”

“Why don’t we try it and find out?,” Riūji proposed.

“Alright,” Taiga agreed, falling back into her act of composure.Rotating herself around to face Riūji, she inspected his face carefully, before declaring, “Since you’re the one who messed up, you better be the one to start this.Because I’m already getting tired of waiting.”

His stifled laughter tinted the words of his reply.“As you wish.”Bending down slightly, he framed the side of her face with his palm, and brought their faces together.Her eyes closed as they neared another.A moment later, his lips met hers.Her last thoughts, before she directed majority of her attention to . . . other things, were something along the lines of: _Well . . . I guess this is acceptable.So I’ll allow it.Just this once._

**Author's Note:**

> I just got done rewatching Toradora a week or so ago, and it prompted me to finally finish this little one shot that I started years ago when I first watched the series. Hope you all enjoyed it! I have a couple other unfinished Toradora fics from back then that I might try to complete as well, so there may be more in the works, we shall see.


End file.
